1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an immersible toy, especially a batheable doll comprising a torso with a water-resistant skin; and appendages comprising a head, arms, and legs which are moveably attached to said torso.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A batheable doll should seem to the child playing with it to be similar to a newborn baby or infant being bathed by the baby's mother. The torso of such a doll should convey a sense of a skin-like flexibility when grasped, and its arms, legs, and head should be moveable to a relatively uncontrolled extent. Further, it must be water-resistant.
The known examples of batheable dolls do not satisfy these conditions. Generally only the so-called "soft dolls" have flexible bodies. These bodies are stuffed with flexible material, and have a fabric cover such as muslin or cotton. Such a cover does not resemble skin when grasped, and in particular it is not suitable for bathing with water; accordingly, such dolls are not useable as batheable dolls.
Instead, batheable dolls are commonly fabricated of polyvinyl chloride. Their skin is of necessity very thick, in order to permit the provision of joints for the head, arms, and legs in the regions of the neck, shoulders, and hips of the torso. This thick skin affords little in the way of flexibility or a skin-like sensation; moreover, the joints tend to leak and to admit water into the doll's body cavity, so that the doll becomes unnaturally heavy. Further, the water may later come out at an undesirable time and/or in an improper place, e.g. when a child is sleeping in bed with the doll.